7.22.2013

What to say? Barcelona was an amazing experience on every level. Reconnecting with old friends from previous symposiums and workshops ... making so many new friends ... learning from sketchers I have been admiring for years, in their workshops (Thank you so much, Shari and Eduardo!) and by paging through their stunning sketchbooks ... and enjoying a truly wonderful city ... my head is still spinning more than a week later.

I can't thank the organizers enough. Putting on an event like this, and having it run so smoothly ... it was really an impressive accomplishment! Thanks also to my fellow instructors - my only regret is that I couldn't go to ALL of the other workshops. Based on the many comments I heard from participants, everyone did an outstanding job.

Thanks also, most of all, to the people who signed up to participate (and to those who made the trip even without being able to register!). I was so moved by the positive attitudes, the willingness to try new approaches, the abundant humor, and the general goodwill displayed by so many people from so many locations and walks of life. I can't describe how fortunate I feel to be part of this group, this movement, this crazy extended family!

I was reminded of something Lapin and I talked about at the very first symposium in Portland - that these events are like "the Woodstock of Sketching." I was kidding when I first said it ... sort of ... because it struck me that we were a similar type of group. Obviously we're focused on sketching rather than music, but we certainly do come from a wide variety of locations and backgrounds to meet in one place and share three incredible days of art, laughter, and friendship. Of course, symposiums are better - Woodstock only happened once (and it was really muddy and there were too many people in just one place, hahaha), but we get to do symposiums each year in a new location! I only hope that I'll be able to attend the next one, and the next, and the next ...

In the meantime, I'm going to make a real effort to start doing more regional, smaller-scale events, to keep the energy of the symposium going. I hope everyone involved with Urban Sketchers will do likewise, and contribute however they can to strengthen this movement that was started by our friend Gabi Campanario just six short years ago. Thank you, Gabi, and thanks again to everyone who made this possible. Força dibuixants urbans!

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I teach architecture at the University of Idaho - design studios, architectural graphics courses, and a professional practice course. One of my passions outside of teaching ... and music, and plants, and mycology, and ... is observing and understanding the world through sketching with various media, such as pencil, pen, charcoal and watercolor. Passing along the same skill and interest to students is a goal I've pursued through my teaching here in Moscow, Idaho, and through an 8-week study-abroad program in Rome each summer.